


Four times Luffy didn't get to throw the stowaway overboard, and one time he did

by GemmaRose



Series: Kyla's Story [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 4 and 1, Gen, Humor, Original Character-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-04-18 07:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4697978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Straw Hat Pirates have many allies. Allies who draw assumptions when they meet Kyla before being introduced.</p><p>Won't make much sense if you haven't read Kyla's Story. Chapters 1-3 take place between chapters 3 and 4 of Sunny's Girl, chapters 4 and 5 take place between chapters 18 and 19 of Sunny's Girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shanks

The sounds of battle died down abruptly, and Kyla peeked out one of the windows to see that the other ship was still floating. True it belonged to one of the Yonku, but still she’d sorta hoped to see something that big sink. A moment later the door to the deck swung open, and she whirled around to see Chopper in Heavy Point with Sanji draped over one shoulder.

“Mom!” Kyla hopped down and rushed over, looking from the cook’s bloodied face to Chopper’s.

“He’ll be fine.” the doctor assured her, crossing the room and opening the infirmary door. “In fact, if you get out some food he might even be back on his feet faster.”

“‘M fine.” Sanji mumbled, and Kyla giggled.

“You’re all bloody.”

“‘S nothing.” Sanji lifted his head and grinned weakly, a fairly gruesome sight given the amount of blood on his face. “Jus’ a couple scratches.”

“I’ll patch him up.” Chopper smiled reassuringly, and Kyla stepped back as the infirmary door shut. If he was carrying Sanji in like that, it meant her mom was the worst hurt. And if that was the worst of the injuries they’d sustained, then they must’ve won the fight.

Kyla grinned, and set to pulling out ingredients. Luffy was sure to be starving, and once Mom got back on his feet he’d be glad to skip the process of fetching everything and just get straight into cooking.

\---

Shanks chuckled as his medic finished splinting his broken arm, despite the fist it earned him to the back of the head. His old hat felt odd to wear now, scratchy and slightly misshapen, but he couldn’t just give it back to Luffy right away. It would make a great parting gift though, or perhaps he’d keep it until Luffy became Pirate King, and then give it?

“Is your arm okay?”

Shanks looked up to see Luffy crouched in front of him, concern written clearly on his face. “Relax.” he got to his feet, a slightly awkward motion since his arm was in a sling and there’d be hell to pay if he removed it from said sling. “What sort of Yonku would I be if I lost both arms?”

Luffy beamed, his distinctive hissing chuckle cutting the air, and straightened up. “An awesome one.”

“So, where do you brats keep the booze?”

“Kitchen.” Luffy pointed at a door a level up, and Shanks nodded at him once.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t let Sanji catch you, though.” the teen laughed, carefree even as close to half his crew was sprawled over the grassy deck in no condition to go picking another fight. Shanks raised his splinted arm in acknowledgement, careful not to remove it from the sling, and made his way up one of the flights of stairs. The galley was immaculate, but his eye was drawn immediately to the open door to what must be their pantry. There was a small child reaching for something in said pantry, so completely focused she didn’t even notice him, and Shanks blinked a few times to ensure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.

Nope, she was definitely there, a sword hanging from her haramaki and colourful beads adorning the ends of her braids. He turned around and walked back out onto the deck, shutting the door behind himself.

“Hey, Luffy!” he raised his voice slightly, calling the kid’s attention away from Ben.

“Yeah?”

“There’s a stowaway raiding your pantry.” he moved to jab his thumb over his shoulder, but a poisonous glare from his medic stopped that idea in its tracks.

“A stowaway?” Luffy’s eyes shone, but Usopp hung his head with a heavy sigh.

“Not again.” the long nosed sniper muttered, making his father laugh.

“Hey, Luffy.” Yasopp raised his voice slightly, gaining the attention of everyone on deck. “Know what you do to stowaways?”

“Throw ‘em overboard!” Luffy shouted along with the Red Hair Pirates who had been there on Dawn Island, punching the air.

An exasperated groan echoed from the Straw Hat crew. “So that’s where he learnt it.” they grumbled as one. Shanks chuckled. Luffy stood and weaved through the two crews laid out across the deck until he reached the stairs.

Shanks stepped aside, and followed the younger captain up the stairs back into the galley again. The pantry door was closed and the stowaway was sitting at the bar now, swinging her legs and sipping on a glass of juice. Luffy looked around the room in what would be exaggerated confusion in anyone else, and then his eyes finally settled on the girl who was so obviously out of place.

“You said they were in here, right?” Luffy looked up at him, and Shanks nodded once. On his own ship this would be frustrating, but here and now it was simply amusing. "I don't see a stowaway." Luffy muttered almost petulantly, then he turned back to look at the child. “Kyla, have you seen any stowaways?”

Had Shanks been off-balance, he would’ve fallen flat on his face at the sheer stupidity of the question. How had this kid not gotten _any_ smarter in the past twelve years?

“That is the stowaway!” he nearly removed his arm from its sling to point at her, but both stowaway and future Pirate King gave him confused looks.

“Nooo.” Luffy said with a frown, like he was trying to find a trick in the words. “That’s Kyla. She’s Sanji’s daughter.”

“I’ve got all the stuff out so Mom can make dinner once Chopper’s done with him.” she grinned, stilling her feet. Her gaze shifted to him, and Shanks met her gaze levelly. Come to think of it, if you pulled those bangs out of her face and undid the braids, she did look like that bounty poster that had come out not long after Kaidou was deposed. “Hey mister, why are you wearing Luffy’s hat?”

Luffy laughed, and patted Shanks’s armless shoulder. “I gave it back to him.” he beamed.

The kid’s face scrunched up in confusion even more obvious than Luffy’s. “But it’s your hat.”

Luffy shrugged, and Shanks found an earlier word popping into his head. “Black Leg Sanji is your mother?”

Kyla nodded, and took another sip of her juice. Shanks wished he had a functioning arm so he could press a hand to his forehead. “So is he, uh, she-”

“Eww.” Kyla scrunched up her face again, this time in disgust. “No. Mom wouldn’t even make a pretty girl.” she started swinging her legs again.

“Then, how?” Shanks wondered if this was what an impending migraine felt like.

“He’s my adopted mom.” Kyla grinned, as wide and innocent as Luffy’s had been when they first met. Luffy, who had apparently left because the brat was nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe-” Shanks decided to risk the wrath of his doctor, and pulled his arm free of its sling so he could pinch the bridge of his nose. “Maybe lead with that next time.”

The door on the other side of the room opened, and Sanji himself walked out of what was evidently the infirmary. Kyla’s face lit up, and she carefully set her juice down before hopping off the bench and running up to the cook. Shanks slipped back out onto the deck, and found Luffy there grinning like a jack o' lantern.

“You didn’t get to throw her overboard either, so it’s okay.” he clapped a hand on Shanks’s injured shoulder this time, and then hopped the railing and headed for the knot of his crew gathered near the base of the main mast. The red haired Yonku sighed, and started down the stairs towards where his highest ranked crew members were sitting, listening to Usopp with rapt attention. It was starting to drizzle, but neither navigator on deck seemed concerned so Shanks elected to ignore the precipitation. He still had to figure out when would be a good time to return the hat which was, as the little non-stowaway had so aptly said, was decidedly Luffy’s now.


	2. Sabo

Sabo staggered slightly, leaning against the wall and willing his hand to ignite. It was harder than he'd thought, trying to grasp the line between physical form and pure flame while he was losing blood, but after a few long seconds he managed it. Of course, being made of fire, his plan to sear the gash in his side shut didn't work as well as he'd hoped, and he cursed under his breath.

The corridor opened on his left into a workshop sort of area, and he blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. There was a small child curled up under the workbench, their head bowed and dark braids hanging around their ears. They almost looked asleep, a candle burning low in front of their feet, and Sabo made an effort to back away quietly. It was easy, Luffy's ship was one of the best maintained he'd ever seen, but he didn't stop walking carefully until he was back on deck. The newly-crowned Pirate King was sitting next to Shanks, signature hat back on his head, gesturing with bandaged arms to emphasize something he was saying.

"Luffy." Sabo kicked his brother in the leg to get his attention, and was met with a wide grin.

"Sabo!" the rubber teen popped to his feet, far more nimble than somebody wrapped in bandages ought to be.

"You've got a stowaway."

Absurdly, Luffy's face lit up at this news. Shanks laughed and reached his arm up to give the younger captain a pat on the back. "Go, I'm not leaving in a hurry."

"Maybe this time I’ll actually get to throw someone overboard.” Luffy beamed, making the red haired Yonku laugh. “Lead the way, Sabo.”

The ship’s layout was simple enough to remember, and Sabo pointed his baby brother towards the dozing stowaway. “There.” he said quietly, and Luffy followed his pointing finger before looking back with an uncomprehending stare.

“Where?”

“There!” Sabo jabbed his finger at the stowaway, who was lifting their head now and blinking at them owlishly. Their face screwed up in obvious confusion.

“I’m not a stowaway.” she huffed, picking up the candle and blowing it out.

“Aww, man. It’s just Kyla.” Luffy pouted, crossing his arms. “And here I got all excited to throw somebody overboard.”

The child, Kyla, giggled and crawled out from under the workbench, candle in hand. “Did you win?”

Luffy beamed, and tilted his hat forward so the kid could clearly see the golden crown tucked over the red ribbon. “You’re talking to the Pirate King now.”

Her freckled face lit up, and Sabo leaned against the doorway slightly as they threw themself at Luffy for a hug. “If she’s not a stowaway, why is she here?” he asked slowly.

“She’s Sanji’s daughter.” Luffy answered with a wide grin.  
“Sanji’s my mom.” Kyla said at the same time, her smile just as bright against her dark skin but only as wide as a normal face would allow.

“Huh.” Sabo pressed harder on the wound in his side, and wondered if he could manage to put off getting treated until he’d passed out and couldn’t see or feel the inevitable needles. “Guess Ivankov got to your cook during those two years.”

Kyla frowned. “Who’s Iva-kov?”

Luffy chuckled his distinctive shishishi, and put the girl down. “Iva is this weird lady-man with a _huuuge_ head, and hair big enough to hide whole people in!” he held his arms out, and Kyla giggled. “Ooh, ooh, and he wears this bright pink swimsuit thing that looks like this.” Luffy traced it out over his vest and shorts, eyes sparkling. “And funny tall sock things, and high heels.”

“Ivankov can change people from boys into girls. Like he did with your mom.” Sabo added, and briefly wondered how the kid could have not noticed Sanji’s transition. Then again, if the blond had already presented as male then a five year old might not have been able to easily tell the difference.

The freckled girl’s face screwed up in a fashion remarkably similar to Luffy’s, and then she started laughing. Sabo chuckled with her, then winced as the action sent pain ripping out from his wound. “He is a pretty silly guy, and he’s even sillier as a girl.”

Kyla actually fell down at that, arms wrapping over her haramaki as she laughed loud enough to fill the whole room. Luffy’s eyes finally seemed to catch how much blood was dripping from between Sabo’s fingers, and the blond groaned internally as his brother frowned. A frowning Luffy was a Luffy who had either made up his mind about something or was about to burst into tears, and he seriously doubted that his little brother was going to start crying.

“You should let Chopper look at that.” Luffy inclined his head towards the bleeding wound, and Sabo knew his exasperated groan came out closer to a childish whine but couldn’t quite bring himself to care.

“I think I’ll just pass out first.”

“Sabooo.” Luffy whined, making puppy dog eyes at him and damnit the King of the Pirates really shouldn’t be able to pull that off. Then again, Luffy had never exactly been one for following rules, so he really shouldn’t have been so surprised.

“Fine.” he huffed. “But it’s not my fault if he gets burnt.”

\---

Kyla managed to tamp her laughter down to giggles after several minutes, and when her sides no longer hurt from the idea of her mom ever having been a girl she went up onto the deck. There were lots of people there, including Shanks and some of his crew, but after finding Sanji and Zoro in the crowd she turned to look for the blond who Luffy had called Sabo.

He was sitting with a girl with a dirty pink hat and short brownish hair. Kyla picked her way easily across the deck, weaving around those she couldn’t hop over, and came to a stop in front of him. “What’d ya mean when you said Chopper might get burnt?” she asked without preamble.

The pink-hat lady snorted, and sat up straight so she was no longer leaning on Sabo. “C’mon, don’t be shy.” she teased, poking the blond’s cheek.

Sabo sighed, and held up a hand so the back of it was facing Kyla. “I meant this.”

His hand suddenly burst into flames, and Kyla tripped over somebody’s leg as she backed away from the small blaze. “Your hand!” she blurted, pointing at the burning appendage. Sabo didn’t even seem concerned about it!

“I ate the Mera Mera No Mi.” he said in a tone similar to his earlier one but less disinterested. “My whole body is made of fire.” the flames abruptly disappeared, and Kyla was back on her feet almost instantly.

“Do it again.” she grinned, seating herself cross-legged in front of the fire-man. He did, but much to the brunette’s amusement it was his hair which caught fire this time. Kyla giggled as well.

“You look like a candle.” she stood, and held her hands out towards the leaping flames. “It’s warm.”

“Is it? I can’t actually tell.”

“It’s like Mom when he’s mad at people trying to get my bounty.” she mused, recalling how Sanji had caught fire all over and kicked the last pair of bounty hunters through three whole buildings.

“Wanna see another trick?” Sabo grinned, easy and campfire warm.

“Uh-huh.” Kyla nodded, taking a step back.

“Try hitting me.”

“Sabo.” the lady next to him scolded. “Do you want to burn her like you did Hack?”

“She’s a swordsman, Koala. It’s not like she’s going to try punching me.” Sabo turned back to Kyla, and gestured to the pair of simple sayas Usopp and Franky had made to hold her swords. “Go ahead. I’m a Logia.”

“What’s a Logia?” Kyla frowned, testing out the new word on her tongue.

“I’ll tell you if you hit me.” Sabo’s grin was more teasing than Luffy’s ever was, but just as kind as her captain’s.

“O-kay.” Kyla frowned, drawing her first sword and sending it in a lazy arc towards Sabo’s extended forearm. The blade passed right through, his body parting around it with a flicker of red and orange and warm gold, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “That’s so cool!” she grinned. “You’re like Luffy!”

The lady, Koala, laughed. “Well, they are brothers.”

“And neither of you can get hurt easy.” Kyla put her sword away, careful not to scratch Koala as she did so. “Cuz he’s rubber, and you’re fire.”

Sabo and Koala both laughed at that, and Kyla grinned. Luffy’s brother was fun, and funny, and really really cool considering he was made of fire. If he’d been one of the Straw Hats, she might’ve even thought he was the coolest person ever.


	3. Law

Law woke up, and immediately wished he hadn’t. His entire body felt like one big bruise.

“You’re awake!” Jean Bart exclaimed, and Law gave him a groggy death glare. “Guys, the captain’s awake!”

The Heart Pirates were gathered around him in seconds, and Bepo helped him to sit up. Fucking. Ow. He pressed a hand to his chest, where everything hurt the worst, and nodded gratefully when Shachi pressed a plate of warm food into his hands. “I’m fine.” he assured them, allowing Penguin to help him to his feet. “Just need food and a bit more rest.” his shoulder twinged, and he rubbed it with a frown. “Maybe some arnica gel.”

His crew laughed at that, and after a few more assurances that he was fine, really, they let him walk over and sit down at the edge of the party. Away from the crowd and the bonfires, the night was chilly even without the breeze, and Law was passingly grateful he was still wearing his coat over all the bandages. At a glance, most of the party’s participants were at least a bit covered in bandages. It wasn’t surprising, really, considering there had been so damn many marines in addition to Blackbeard’s stupidly strong crew.

His eye caught on Franky, talking with some of the people who lived on the island, and Law snorted. Of course Luffy’s shipwright would be the one to reach out to the islanders whose homes had become collateral damage in the battle. Robin was there too, helping translate the cyborg’s exuberant gestures into something closer to the local language, and Law wondered how many of the Straw Hats he could spot. He’d found a good rock to sit on, and it was just uphill enough to make the entire party visible. Luffy was, unsurprisingly, dancing by the largest bonfire. Zoro and Nami were similarly easy to spot, apparently engaged in some sort of drinking competition. Usopp and Chopper were teaching a gaggle of local kids their stupid dance, the one that involved sticking a chopstick in each nostril, and Brook was perched on a quickly constructed stage with a handful of other musicians, providing music which was audible even at this distance.

That only left Sanji, and Law scanned the likely places- food tables, cooking fires, clusters of girls- before turning his gaze to the Thousand Sunny. All the lights in Luffy’s ship were turned off, but the bonfires and waxing moon lit it up nicely enough. And yep, there he was, carrying a tray of what was probably some sort of baked goods. Law was about to look away and start picking out other familiar faces in the crowd when a quick motion caught his eye.

A small figure was dashing up the length of the Sunny, making for the ladder. It wasn’t Chopper, who was still dancing with Usopp, but it was too small to be any other pirate here. Except perhaps Jewellery Bonney, but a quick scan of the crowd found her devouring the plate of food the Straw Hat chef had brought out. So if it wasn’t her, and it wasn’t Chopper, then the only person left who it could be was a local child.

Law stood, ignoring the protestation of his aching limbs, and made a beeline through the crowd. Luffy was still at the center bonfire, now letting a girl who might’ve been from Big Mam’s crew spin him around in a terribly butchered attempt at ballroom dancing, and Law grabbed one rubber forearm when it swung into reach.

Luffy spun to a stop, looked down, and blinked almost comically at the limb which had wrapped around his torso. “Torao, whadja do that for?” he whined, making a face which would’ve been more at home on a neglected puppy than the strongest pirate in the world.

“You’ve got a stowaway.” he said simply, releasing Luffy’s arm. True, there was a chance that the local kid was just a thief, but these people didn’t seem to value treasure all that much.

Straw Hat’s face lit up at that, and he turned to the lady who’d been dancing with him. “Bye.” he grinned, gave a jaunty little wave, and Law was a bit surprised when the rubberman didn’t so much as make a grab for his wrist. “C’mon, you can help me throw them overboard!”

Law rolled his eyes, but followed Luffy out of the throng of pirates and gritted his teeth against protesting bruises when he followed the younger captain up the Thousand Sunny’s ladder. Luffy headed straight for the kitchen door, which hung slightly ajar, and poked his head inside. Law stood at the railing and grimaced, making a mental checklist of the injuries which he’d need to treat before he could go to sleep tonight.

While Luffy somewhat noisily checked the kitchen, Law started towards the other visibly half-open door. Neither Nami nor Robin would be so careless as to leave their bedroom open, at least not in the time he’d spent travelling with them, and he doubted they’d changed that much in the span of a few short months. He spotted the small figure as soon as he was in the doorway of the girls’ room, bent over and rummaging through a chest of what was probably clothes. He passingly hoped that Nami wouldn’t hurt the kid too badly for going through her stuff. The figure straightened, holding something up, and Law reached over to flick on the lights.

It was a girl, darker than any Raftel local he’d seen so far and with hair braided tight to her skull. She appraised him with dark eyes, and he raised his voice so Luffy would be sure to hear him from the infirmary above.

“Found ‘em.”

Luffy’s footsteps pounded overhead, and Straw Hat was at his side in seconds. “Alright, stowaway.” he said louder than was strictly necessary, pointing vaguely into the room. “I’m gonna-” his hand fell, and the expression which settled on his face was nearly a pout. “Still not a stowaway.” he grumbled.

The girl sighed, and dropped her hand from her sword. “I just wanted to get a jacket.” she huffed, crossing her arms and fixing him with a petulant look. “It’s cold.”

Law frowned, looking from Luffy to the apparently-not-a-stowaway. “Who-?”

“That’s Kyla.” Luffy cut him off before he could even finish asking the question. “It’s okay, Sabo thought she was a stowaway earlier.”

Kyla. Law blinked a few times, and recalled the bounty poster which had come out a few months ago. Come to think of it, if you undid the cornrows and pulled back the bangs... “Sorry.” he ducked his head toward Kyla briefly. “You look rather different than your bounty poster.”

Sanji’s daughter beamed, and pulled a sweater over her head. “Thank you.” she flipped a few braids, the colourful beads on the ends glinting in the light, and Luffy patted her head as she skipped out the door. Luffy wandered out after her, and Law shut the lights back off before closing the door firmly behind himself.

“She shouldn’t be here.” he said quietly.

“Why not?” Luffy was leaning over the railing which looked out to sea, a lazy grin on his face.

“This is a pirate ship.” Law stood next to him, and fixed his gaze on the reflection of the moon on the water. “It’s no place for a kid to grow up.”

“That’s stupid. Pirate ships are the best place to be.” Luffy paused, then his grin widened. “Except when there’s meat somewhere else.”

“Luffy.” Law frowned at the shorter captain. “Pirates shouldn’t raise kids. It’s not good for anyone.”

“Well that doesn’t make sense.” Luffy slumped further over the railing, remarkably flexible even though Chopper had covered nearly every inch of him with bandages. “I mean, mountain bandits are jerks, and pirates are way better, so if mountain bandits can raise kids why not pirates?”

Law stared blankly at the rubberman for a second, trying to find the connection which would’ve made that leap in logic possible, but quickly forewent that and picked a simpler conversational path. “I know firsthand, pirates shouldn’t raise kids. Baby 5, Dellinger, Buffalo.” he frowned briefly at the memory of the day they’d picked up Dellinger. Corazon had literally thrown him in the ocean and it hadn’t deterred the kid. “We were raised by pirates.”

“And?” Luffy turned his head nearly sideways, His signature straw hat wobbled, but didn’t fall.

Law lifted a hand to rub his temples, and winced as he jabbed his fingers into a massive bruise. “And, look at what happened to all of us.”

“Idunno who those other three guys are, but you’re alright Traffy.” Luffy’s smile was warm and bright. “I mean, you’re a Yonku. How awesome is that?”

Law sighed, and found an exhausted chuckle on the end of it. “Not as awesome as being King of the Pirates.”

Luffy laughed loudly at that, and Law winced as he was patted on the back hard enough to send lesser pirates flying forwards into the sea.

\---

Law retreated back to his seat after that, and found himself tracking Kyla through the crowd as he ate. She passed from one Straw Hat to the next every few minutes, and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed her earlier. The only time she was away from Luffy’s nakama it was to sit by Sabo and apparently pester him into showing her his Devil Fruit powers. The one she spent the most time with, though, was easily Zoro. When Sabo shooed her away, she went and curled up against the swordsman’s side like a cat. When Robin finished a dance with her, she laid across his lap. When Sanji refilled her plate, she shared it with the swordsman.

Once he’d finished his own food, Law stood and ventured back into the party. Franky was carrying the dark little swordsman back to the Thousand Sunny, and Zoro wasn’t actively talking with anyone that he could tell. Sure enough, when he found the swordsman in the crowd Zoro was nursing a drink and keeping an eye out in Luffy’s general direction.

“Hey.” the swordsman gave him a brief nod, and shifted minutely to a less guarded posture.

“We need to talk.”

“‘Bout what?” Zoro’s expression wasn’t suspicious in the least, which was still a bit odd.

“Kyla.”

Zoro straightened up, and Law mimicked his change to a more defensive stance. “What about her?”

“She shouldn’t stay with you.” Law said firmly. “Now that everybody’s seen how strong Luffy is, it’s going to be far too dangerous for her on your ship.”

“Excuse me?” Zoro’s eyebrows lifted incredulously.

“She’s a little girl.” Law replied. “People will be coming after Luffy for the glory of taking down the Pirate King, and you’ll surely have swordsmen who want to face you for your title. It won’t be safe for a girl like her.”

“She’s got a sword of her own.” Zoro was frowning now, but it was more irritation than true anger.

“And you think she knows how to use it?” Law challenged. “She’s seven years old, and a girl besides.”

The air suddenly felt very heavy, and for a second which stretched on for a small eternity Law honestly expected he’d have to draw Kikoku against the World’s Greatest Swordsman. But Zoro’s swords remained sheathed, and the green haired swordsman simply leveled a withering glare at him.

“I know she can use it as well as _any_ child with minimal training can use a sword.”

Law frowned right back and crossed his arms. His bruises still hurt like a bitch, but the pain was like white noise now he’d had some time to get used to it. “Minimal training. She can’t defend herself against the types of enemies you’ll be facing from here on out.”

“Which is why she doesn’t fight with us. Just like the dragon kid didn’t fight with Nami and Chopper and Brook when they faced that painting lady.”

Law sighed, and lifted one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Still, nobody on a pirate ship should be unable to defend themselves in a fight.”

“Y’know what.” Zoro’s scowl abruptly faded, and he grabbed one of Law’s shoulders to roughly turn him around. “Go take that up with her mom. Sanji’s over there by the food somewhere.” he waved vaguely in the opposite direction of the tables where food had been laid out, and Law blinked a few times as his brain processed the words.

Sanji, the misogynistic pervert cook, was Kyla’s mom?

\-----

Law headed off in precisely the wrong direction, and Zoro rolled his eyes. The surgeon would probably find Sanji eventually. All you really had to do was listen for the sound of complete idiocy and follow it. You’d either find Luffy, or the cook, and really either one of them was more qualified to shut the young Yonku down than he was.

Zoro exhaled heavily, and the inside of his wrist brushed all three sword hilts as he lowered his arms to his sides. Come to think of it, hadn’t Law been headed for Nami? That would actually be pretty fun to watch. Zoro almost smiled, and started pushing his way through the crowd. Nami was laughing with the lady from Thriller Bark when he found her, and Zoro shook her shoulder to get her attention.

“Oh, hey Zoro.” their navigator was clearly drunk, which was something he’d probably never see again considering her alcohol tolerance.

“Did Law come by?” he asked, only half expecting a reply.

“Nooo.” Nami shook her head, suddenly looking much more sober. “Why?”

“No reason. I want to make a bet.” the words slipped out of his mouth, and he only sorta regretted it when Nami smiled. It was the smile reserved for when she saw something she wanted, usually treasure.

“Alright. How much?”

“My share of the treasure.”

That got her attention alright, and Lola’s as well. “But that would be hundreds of millions of beri!” the pink-haired pirate cried.

“What are we betting on?”

Zoro recalled the look in Law’s eyes as the doctor has strode off into the crowd in search of Sanji. “I bet that Law and the shit cook will get into a fight in the next ten minutes.”

“Lola, could you give me a boost?” Nami was on her feet in a flash, and on Lola’s shoulders even faster. Yeah, definitely not as drunk as she’d seemed. She looked around for a few seconds, then hopped back down and held out a hand. “I’ll stake my share of the treasure on that bet.” she grinned confidently.

“Are you sure, Namizou?” Lola asked.

“Absolutely.” Nami’s grin sharpened as Zoro shook her hand, and Zoro answered with a smug smirk of his own. If Law tried to tell Sanji they should abandon Kyla, the surgeon would be getting his ass handed to him for sure.

Nami insisted that he sit with them until the ten minutes were up, and even produced a small stopwatch to time it. According to the steadily ticking hands, five minutes had passed when a dark shape went flying overhead and Sanji’s furious screams echoed across the whole beach.

Nami’s disbelief was almost as loud, if not louder, and Zoro laughed. For once, things had actually gone the way he figured they would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Depending on how chapter 800 pans out (holy **wow** 799 ended with a bombshell) this may be severely AU. Like, AU beyond Kyla’s existence. If certain speculations become canon in the future, I’ll be sure to come back and make little adjustments. Also, the reason Law didn’t notice Kyla earlier is also why she was only going to get a jacket when she was. Until then, she’d been sitting nice and cozy between Sabo and Koala.


	4. Zeff

Zeff opened the kitchen door, and stepped inside. The thing that hit him immediately was the smell, or rather, the lack of a certain one. He had expected Sanji's undisputed space on this ship to reek of cigarette smoke, but it didn't. Well, it did a little bit, but the stench was old and faint, easily lost under the lingering smell of meat.

A small clinking noise drew Zeff's attention to the refrigerator, and the old ex-pirate scowled. The door was open, and a small figure with two swords on their hip was reaching in to grab something. The person was far too dark to be the crew's pet tanuki-doctor, and too slight besides. That meant they must have stowed away on the ship, probably from the island which sat proudly in the middle of All Blue.

"Hey." Zeff crossed his arms, and levelled a glare at the young girl as she hastily straightened up. Her eyes, about as dark as the curly bangs which nearly covered them, narrowed as he approached.

"Keep ba-" the girl's warning was cut short by a heel to her chest, and Zeff easily sidestepped as she drew her swords and lunged at him. He had to admit, she had impressive reflexes and recovery time for someone her size. It had been a while since he faced someone so small, and Sanji had never come at him with a sword in each hand, but as the girl swung for the hip attached to his bad leg, Zeff chuckled.

"Too slow, kid." he pivoted on his heel, and brought his peg leg up to strike her left arm. It made the familiar sound of breaking bone, and the girl whirled around with a fire in her eyes the likes of which he'd only seen before in Sanji's face.

"You jerk!" she shrieked, sword falling from her left hand as she readied the second for a horizontal slash. He deflected the blade easily with his peg leg, and struck her wrist to make her release the weapon.

It clattered to the floor, and he grabbed a fistful of the child's hair to stop her from bolting past. "Oh no you don't." Zeff frowned, giving one of the girl's ankles a sharp rap with the toe of his shoe when she tried to drag her dropped weapons closer. "You're coming with me."

He started towards the door, and at the first hint of pressure the stowaway began stumbling behind him. She slumped against him as he fumbled slightly with the doorknob, breathing deeply and trying not to sob. The pain of her broken arm was probably setting in now, but she was still putting on a brave face. The door opened as easily as it had a minute ago, and he stuck his head out to see Sanji was back on deck, still arguing with Carne about something or other.

"Oi, brat."

Sanji turned, a scowl already on his face and some smart reply no doubt ready on his tongue.

"What do you kids do with stowaways?" the ex-pirate barked, tightening his grip as the child in question tried to squirm away.

"You found a stowaway?" Luffy's eyes shone, and he bounded down to the grassy deck. "Sanji, you can help me throw them overboard!"

\---

Sanji rolled his eyes at Luffy's enthusiasm, but found a smile creeping onto his face regardless. Carne had even shut up when Zeff stuck his head out of the kitchen, which was a bonus all on its own. He'd scarcely taken a step, however, when Zeff stepped fully out of the doorway and hauled the supposed stowaway in front of him by the hair.

Kyla's cheeks shone with tears, and from the way she clutched her left arm any idiot could tell it was seriously injured. Sanji conjured flames around his body almost without thought, the roar of fire drowning out whatever Usopp was starting to say, and launched himself at Zeff. The old geezer ducked his first kick, and shoved Kyla aside. Normally, if somebody hurt the youngest of the Straw Hat Pirates, Sanji would keep attacking them until they dropped. So would any of the crew, as Usopp's fully draw slingshot attested, but this was not a normal fight. Zeff wouldn't attack in retaliation if Sanji's back was turned, so as soon as the ex-pirate fell into a defensive stance the younger blond forcibly extinguished his clothing.

Kyla's breath hitched with stifled sobs, and despite her recent growth spurt Sanji scooped her up in his arms to hold her tightly. "How bad is it?" he murmured, letting the child he'd come to think of as his own curl against him.

"It hurts." she whimpered, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"Chopper!" Luffy yelled as Sanji began stroking Kyla's unbraided mess of hair.

The reindeer appeared at the kitchen door in seconds, and his eyes went wide as he took in the scene. Usopp still had his slingshot ready to launch a pellet through Zeff's skull, and Zoro had awoken from his nap to look extra menacing despite probably not knowing what was going on. Even Luffy looked angry, which was a pretty rare thing outside of people trying to take his title. Then the little doctor's gaze fell on Kyla herself, how she was curled around her left arm, and Zeff actually raised an eyebrow at the smallest Straw Hat's nearly palpable rage.

“Your pet, right?” Zeff gave him a look which demanded answers, but probably appeared almost nonchalant to the rest of the crew.

“Our doctor.” Sanji bit back, setting Kyla gently down on her feet. He looked at Chopper, and waited until Kyla latched onto the reindeer’s hand before speaking again. “Take care of her.”

Chopper nodded, and Sanji absently reached for the breast pocket where he used to keep cigarettes. Except he’d quit a few years ago, so his hand simply fell back to his side. Damn, it had been a while since he’d wanted a cigarette.

\---

Kyla did her best not to whimper as Chopper brought over a little pill and cup of water. Sanji was screaming outside, fighting hard enough to shake the ship ever so slightly, and she hoped he beat that old guy into the deck. The man was a jerk, no better than the Marines and other pirates they fought.

“Kyla.” Chopper clicked his hoof in front of her face, and she wondered how long she’d been glaring at the baseboard for him to sound so concerned.

“Yeah?”

“Your left ulna is fractured.” he gently tapped the spot where the peg leg had struck. “It’ll take about four weeks to heal fully, so I’m going to put it in a cast.”

“I don’t like casts.” Kyla grumbled, relaxing her hand as Chopper wrapped it in soft fluffy fabric.

“I know.” Chopper sighed. “Nobody does.”

That was a sorta weird response. Usually he told her to be more careful, or snapped at Zoro for being too rough. Kyla held her arm at the angle Chopper specified, and watched as he mixed a bowl of plaster. Her arm didn’t hurt anymore, at least, but it would take a lot more than some medicine to heal her bruised pride. She’d lost so _fast_ , faster than she’d lost to Zoro in years, and the guy was an old fart!

Chopper tapped her fist, and she relaxed it so he could start the plastering process. Zoro always said that losing and injuries were a chances to learn where she needed to improve, and it wasn’t like she had much else to do but think while Chopper plastered her arm. Why had she lost? That was easy, she’d underestimated her opponent. He was old, but that didn’t mean he was weak or incompetent. On the contrary, he had several decades of experience on her, and she had the broken arm to show for it. But if she hadn’t underestimated him, what could she have done differently? Not letting him disarm her would be a good start, but what she needed to be was fast. If she’d been faster, she could’ve taken out his bad leg and gotten the advantage. Or at least adjusted after missing to block his strike with her swords instead of her arm.

As soon as Chopper deemed her ready to start training again, she’d talk to Zoro about how to get faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I went to see Star Wars, The Force Awakens this past Saturday and holy hell it was **so awesome**? Like, I’m actively in love with Rey and will probably be pulling together a cosplay of her if I can ever figure out how to style a wig. Or maybe I'll ask for a Rey wig for my birthday, who knows, but seriously it’s so awesome go see it. 3D isn’t worth it, though. Doesn’t add much of anything.
> 
> The next (and final!) chapter will come out on Christmas Adam, this Wednesday.


	5. Luffy

Kyla swung her feet idly, scuffing the heels of her boots against the carpeted floor of the Baratie’s huge main dining area. They’d had dinner really late, so that Sanji could come eat with them about halfway through when the last other table of people had left, but she hadn’t expected Zeff to be joining them as well. The old one-legged ex-pirate was pretty cool, letting her call him gramps since he was basically Sanji’s dad, and he was really strong too so she couldn’t reasonably disrespect him. She wasn’t sure why Sanji did, honestly, but if she had to guess she’d say it wasn’t that different from how her mom and sensei fought and argued all the time.

“Y’know, I thought the Marines had made a mistake with that bounty poster.” Zeff said offhandedly. Kyla looked up from her plate, and followed the old chef’s inclined head towards the pair of posters hanging on the brick pillar behind the bar.

“Which one?” Sanji asked, setting down his glass.

“The swords-brat’s.” Zeff answered.

Sanji seemed caught between a scowl and a blush, and after a moment looked down at his food and grumbled angrily.

“You should’ve seen what she did to get it.” Usopp laughed.

“What’d she do?”

“I bit a Marine captain, stole a sword, and almost took his arm off!” Kyla piped up, patting the weapon in question. “It’s saved me a lot.” she smiled wide, and Zoro grinned back briefly.

“Saved you?” Zeff raised an eyebrow.

“Uh-huh.” Kyla nodded. “When we get in fights with Marines, or other pirates.” she took another bite of her dinner, and looked up again to see Sanji and Zeff exchanging looks.

“Okay.” Nami set down her fork and glared at both blonds. “Sanji, what’s going on?”

The table went quiet, Franky stopping dead in the middle of a joke and Chopper and Usopp swallowing their laughter. Luffy even paused briefly mid-bite, then just stuffed the whole piece of meat in his mouth and looked from Nami to Sanji.

Sanji sighed, and folded his hands in his lap. “I’ve been thinking, maybe we should leave Kyla here.”

“What?” Zoro’s voice was the quietest of the crew, but his tone sent chills down Kyla’s spine.

“There was a reason we were going to leave Kyla on Soreth.” Sanji shot back smoothly, and Kyla’s heart dropped to somewhere below the floorboards.

“You’re leaving me here?” she asked, and her voice was far more shaky and weak than she wanted. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and when Sanji opened his mouth again she stood up from her seat. “I thought you were supposed to be my family!” she yelled, and before anyone could react she spun on her heel and charged out of the room at full speed, knocking over several chairs on the way. She crashed into one of the chefs a minute later, apologized quickly, and took a staircase up to a hopefully more empty floor.

The hallway was dead silent, and she picked a door at random. It was a spare bedroom that smelled faintly of old cigarette smoke, and obviously hadn’t been used in a long while. She sat down on the mattress, and tried to breathe evenly to stifle the sobs building in her chest. “Swordsman don’t cry.” she gasped, her voice thick and tears carving hot trails down her face. “Swordsmen don’t cry!” her voice cracked, and she pressed her face into her knees.

She’d actually thought that Sanji loved her, that he wanted her to be with them on the ship as part of their family. She should’ve known the past would catch up with her sooner or later. She was just a stowaway, after all, and now that he didn’t have to worry about a little girl getting hurt what was to stop them from leaving her behind? It wasn’t like she was big enough to stop them, or strong enough for that matter. She was too weak to actually help in fights, too weak to properly defend herself as a member of the Pirate King’s crew, too young and too small and too _fucking_ weak.

A sob pulled out of her throat, and she shifted to grab the blanket and pull it over herself. It was thin, but at least now if somebody looked in she’d be able to hide the fact she’d been crying.

\---

Once everything had been packed into a pair of bags and placed just inside the delivery door, Sanji headed into the Baratie to find Kyla. It wasn’t hard to locate her with observation haki, a familiar little beacon almost as bright as Luffy, but he clenched his teeth at the aura of sadness she was giving off. That was his fault, she was his daughter in all but blood and he was willingly giving her up. But it was for her own good, for her safety, so he exhaled slowly and started up the stairs towards her. He paused outside the door, and had to look at the doorframe a second time to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

No, those were cigarette burns littering the wood. Zeff had never painted over them, and Sanji made a motion as if to stub out an imaginary light. His hand hit a good few inches above the highest mark, and he smiled slightly. Zeff hadn’t shrunk, he’d just grown several inches since leaving. He opened the door, as silent as any on the Sunny, and his eyes landed immediately on the bed.

Kyla was lying on her side, the pale blue blanket piled over her and her hair unbound. He crossed the room, and smoothed out the blanket over her. Gods, he hadn't seen her this tightly curled in her sleep since they found her stowing away from Adros Island all those years ago. Her knees were drawn to her chest, and her left hand clutched the sheets like claws.

She didn’t stir as he tucked her in, so she was probably very deeply asleep at the moment. The fact had been weighing on his mind all week, that a wonderful little girl had been forced to become used to the horrors of the sea at such a young age. She'd already become such a fierce warrior, fighting for her life alongside them. More than that, she had already killed at least three people, and those were only the ones he knew of.

He sat down on the foot of the bed. "I know you're upset." he started, keeping his voice low so as not to wake her. She was already hurting so much, she didn't need the pain of knowing in advance that the decision had been made to actually leave her behind. "I promised I would never let anyone take you away from me, but Zeff isn't taking you." he laid a hand lightly on the blanket covered lump which was her foot, and she stirred slightly in her sleep.

"You deserve so much better than a life with us. The Baratie may be a bit rowdy at times, but it's a much safer place for you to grow up than the ship of the Pirate King. You won't have to fight for your life, or kill to defend yourself, and Zeff is a good man." he glanced at the lump which was her broken arm, and winced slightly.

"He's a bit rougher than Zoro, but he thinks you're adorable." the blond chuckled. "Not that he'll ever admit it."

Kyla remained an unconscious lump under the blanket, and Sanji sighed. The bed creaked slightly as he stood, and Kyla made a muffled sound which was dangerously close to a sob. Sanji frowned, and ran a hand over her hair for what would probably be the last time. Her face was streaked with dried tears, her eyes puffy, and Sanji’s chest tightened. He’d made her cry, just suggesting that she should be left here. A tear slipped out of her visible eye, tracing over to her nose, and he wiped it away with his thumb.

"Goodbye, Eggplant." he whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead just next to her thick curly bangs. This was for her own good, leaving her here. She would be right at home among the fighting chefs, who loved her already after the past week, and he couldn’t imagine a safer place to grow up outside the four blue seas than All Blue.

\---

The door shut, and Kyla waited until Sanji’s quiet footsteps had faded before sitting up. They were actually going to do it. The Straw Hats were going to leave her here, and she’d probably never see them again. She moved without thinking, clawing her way free of the blanket and swinging her legs out of bed. She hadn’t even taken off her shoes yet, so as soon as her feet hit the hardwood floor she grabbed her swords and crept over to the door. The boards under her feet creaked, a sound which was probably very quiet but roared in her ears like a mast groaning in strong winds.

She shut the door behind herself, as quietly as she could, and crept down the stairs. She’d have to stow away again, that was the only solution to this. They’d probably try to leave her again if she revealed herself while the Baratie was within Mini Merry 2’s range, so she’d have to swipe some food to tide her over for a day or two.

There was a nice clean dishcloth hanging near the sink, and she laid it out on the counter. It would probably fit some bread and cheese, and maybe a bit of fruit. Some poking around in the lock-less fridge revealed a hunk of cheese about the size of her fists put together, and she grabbed an orange as well before leaving the fridge and shutting it quietly. There were some rolls in a basket in the pantry, and she grabbed two of those. The dishcloth tied shut nicely, and she paused at the door out of the kitchen.

There were two big bags sitting next to it which looked an awful lot like Nami’s treasure bags, and one of them had a pair of wooden sword hilts sticking out the top. Well, that complicated things a bit. She’d have to carry all that shit back onto the ship without waking anyone or leaving anything somewhere it would be noticed. She hung her little bag of food from the hilt of her first sword, and gave each big bag an experimental tug. The one with her shinai was way too heavy, but the other one moved easily enough.

“Well, shit.” she muttered under her breath. That would be a complete pain to move, and probably take at least a dozen trips. But first things first, she could carry the lighter bag up and drag it down into the hold to hide with. Several trips later, she had everything back on the Sunny and squished into the curved space between the bow and the boxes in front. Then she found a space between two boxes just wide enough to sit in, and dug her bathrobe out of the lighter bag to use as a blanket. It took a while, but eventually the sound of waves on the hull and gentle rocking of the ship lulled her to sleep.

\---

Kyla stared at the floorboards, letting her eyes go out of focus and trying to meditate. She’d already heard two commotions of the rest of the crew eating, and after dinner she’d go up to the grass deck and take whatever punishment Luffy deemed appropriate.

“Ky-” Franky stopped before completing her name, and she jumped in place. The cyborg sighed, and offered a large hand to help her to her feet. “Come on, let’s get you above decks.” he chuckled as she put her swords through their loops on her haramaki and stepped over the remaining roll from her little food pack. “Luffy’s gonna be so excited to hear we have a stowaway again.”

Kyla smiled, and adjusted her haramaki so the swords hung properly. Franky lead her back up, and went first up the ladder to the grass deck.

“Hey, Luffy.” he called, sticking his head and shoulders through the hatch. “We’ve got a stowaway.”

“Yosh!” the captain cheered, and Kyla heard his feet pounding over as Franky climbed all the way up. “You can help throw ‘em overboard, since you found them.”

Brook laughed as Franky reached a hand down to gesture for her to come up, and Kyla scaled the ladder easily. It was almost funny, how quickly Luffy’s face went from ecstatic to hit-over-the-head stunned. Then it changed into a frustrated pout. “Alright, Franky, help me carry her to the railing.”

“What?!” Nami yelled from the roof of the kitchen, glaring down. “Don’t you dare throw her overboard, you rubber moron!”

“Who’s Luffy trying to dun-” Sanji stopped mid-word, and Kyla avoided looking at him by pulling her swords from her haramaki sayas and all. She laid them gently on the ground as Sanji stormed down to the grass deck, and didn’t protest when one of Luffy’s hands grabbed her by the shoulder.

“This is the fifth time I’ve been told we have a stowaway!” Luffy said loudly, talking over Sanji’s threats. “She’s going overboard!”

She kept her eyes on the grass as Luffy marched her over to the pristine railing, ignoring Sanji’s threats that the captain would be the next one overboard if she passed the railing, and when he gestured for her to stop a few yards from the edge of the deck she stopped. Luffy kept walking though, his hand on her shoulder gripping tighter as the attached arm stretched, and when she was yanked off her feet and sent hurling through the air Kyla’s scream was only halfway one of terror.

The ocean stung when she hit it, and she kicked her way back to the surface easily enough. A hand lifted her by the back of the shirt before she could so much as wipe the saltwater from her eyes, and Nami grunted with the effort of hauling Kyla onto the waver.

“What have you been eating, rocks?” the navigator griped, turning the watercraft around and starting slowly back towards the ship. Zoro had Luffy over one shoulder, halfway up the ladder, and Nami pulled her waver to a stop at the foot of the ladder. “Permission for two to come aboard, captain?” she called. Luffy gave a weak thumbs up, and Nami turned to Kyla with a smile. “Go get a change of clothes, and meet me in the bathroom. You’ll need to shower all this salt out of your hair.”

“Yes, Nami.” Kyla grinned, and started up the ladder after her sensei and captain. Robin handed her a towel as soon as she set foot on deck, and Luffy chuckled weakly when Usopp finished scolding him for being reckless.

“Worth it.” the waterlogged Pirate King grinned.

“Kyla.” Robin clicked her fingers, drawing the young swordsman’s attention. “You know it’s not polite to board a ship without the captain’s permission, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but you guys were gonna leave me behind.” Kyla pulled the towel tight around her shoulders, and looked up at the archaeologist. “I didn’t wanna stay there. Zeff isn’t my family like you guys are.”

“Speaking of Zeff.” Chopper frowned. “He has our number, he should’ve called when he realized you were missing. It’s been over half the day.”

Sanji frowned. “Shitty geezer.” he grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Then he sighed, and gave her a smile. “Come on, I’ll make you a snack.” he turned and walked back into the kitchen, and after Nami nodded Kyla followed him, picking up her swords on the way. He didn’t seem to be that mad at her, which was more unnerving than anything else. He’d been the one to suggest they leave her behind, shouldn’t he be upset that she stayed against his wishes?

The kitchen was awkwardly silent, save the sound of Sanji making grilled cheese on the stove and the sea water dripping off of Kyla onto the floor. She stripped off her boots and socks, laying them out on the seat to her right. After a minute of consideration, she set her swords on the table and hung her haramaki over the back of that chair. The silence dragged on, punctuated by dripping water and sizzling butter, until Kyla couldn’t bear it any more.

“Sorry.” she said, scuffing her heel against the floorboards.

“What?” Sanji frowned over his shoulder, and Kyla wasn’t sure why he looked confused instead of upset. Shouldn’t he be angry at her?

“Sorry I stowed away.” Kyla scuffed her heel again, leaving a smear of salt water across the hardwood. “You wanted me gone, but...” she trailed off, throat closing up, and took a deep breath. She couldn’t cry over this again, not when she was back home and everything was fine. Or at least, everything seemed fine. She hadn’t realized Sanji wanted to leave her until he said it, so how could she know he wasn’t just putting on another act? He acted silly towards Robin and Nami all the time, it would make sense for him to not act upset at her now even when he should be.

Sanji set a plate on the table with two steaming sandwiches, then sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his side, wet hair squishing slightly against his dark jacket, and gripped the front of his shirt tightly with her right hand. They sat like that in silence for a minute, the grilled cheese cooling on the table and Sanji stroking her hair and Kyla trying not to cry because there was no reason to be crying now.

“I never wanted you gone, Eggplant.” he said quietly, hand moving down to tilt her head up until she was looking at him. “I wanted-” he sighed, and let her tuck her head against his side again. “I just want you to be safe.”

Kyla sniffled, and pressed her head against Sanji’s ribs harder. “I promise I’ll be safe, Mom.” she choked out, swallowing a hiccupy sob. “I’ll keep my bangs down, and never stow away ever again. I’ll be good.” she looked up, and Sanji brushed her dripping bangs aside to plant a kiss on her forehead.

“You’ll never need to stow away again, Kyla.” he released her shoulder and cupped her cheeks, pressing a light kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’ll make sure of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand, that’s a wrap! There are some scenes I wanted to write which just didn’t fit in, like Kyla asking if she can call Zeff “gramps” and Zeff reacting to Sanji calling Kyla “Eggplant” and also a conversation where Sanji sorta admits he stopped smoking because of Kyla, but alas they just didn’t fit in here. Nonetheless, I am very pleased with how this chapter came out. Also, Zeff was entirely aware of Kyla sneaking out, and only allowed her to take food because he didn’t want to bother with raising another shitty brat. He’s getting too old for that shit, and she’s a swordsman to boot!
> 
> Oh, and btw, you can watch Adventure of Nebulandia [here on Crunchyroll](http://www.crunchyroll.com/one-piece/one-piece-adventure-of-nebulandia-adventure-of-nebulandia-691121). It's actually pretty good, as far as One Piece movies go.


End file.
